Tag Archives: Communion

Traveling as we do we see different approaches to the elements of worship. That’s especially true when we visit churches outside our own Zion, but often even different churches of our own denomination have approaches to things that are new to us.

We visited one church in which the bulletin directed us to receive the elements whenever we wanted upon receiving them. They passed the trays and most everyone received them immediately. Those in the front of the church got theirs first, received them, and then waited for the service to continue. I didn’t like that very much because it seemed to take the “union” out of comm-union for me.

Other churches may instruct people to wait for further instructions but they have a congregational song going throughout the distribution of elements. At one place the minister was almost shouting over the praise band, instructing us to “take and eat.” I found myself wanting to say “hush!” to the singers so I could not only contemplate what the Lord did and is doing for me but also hear what the minister was saying.

Since I believe this sacrament is, indeed, “a means of grace” I want to be given a bit of spiritual space when I receive it. Time spent holding the symbols of our Lord’s broken body and shed blood while others are being served is one way that can happen. Also, some quiet time, maybe with just some soft instrumental music, helps me listen to the “still, small voice” of God.

Like this:

No, I’m not going to complain about the style of music or being asked to stand through the song -er- worship service. Here are three contemporary worship services practices that I am seeing that bug me.

Volume of instruments in the praise band. This may surprise you, but I’m not talking about the music being too loud. We seldom come away from a service in a church of our flavor (Church of the Nazarene) thinking the music is too loud. What I do hear fairly often, though, is unbalanced volume from the various instruments in the band. Often, even when the stage has several instruments, the only two I can hear clearly are the strumming of the worship leader on the guitar and the drummer. If you closed your eyes you would think that was all there was: no keyboard, no bass, no second guitar. Of course there are variations to that. Sometimes the music guy plays keyboard and it’s the keyboard you hear. Really, if you are going to recruit instrumentalists to your praise band and have them come to rehearsal it’s reasonable that your music and sound people work together to balance the sound. Obviously, there are exemptions – maybe you have a not-so-talented musician that you want to encourage by having them sit in. Aside from that, though, an effort needs to be made to equalize the sound.

Self-serve communion. It is becoming more common to put the communion elements out and announce to the congregation that during the next song they can come and receive communion if they want. I can’t tell you what poor symbolism I think this is. Communion isn’t a self-serve event. It isn’t an “if you want it” kind of ordinance. Just continuing with the music portion of the service as though communion is just a side line misses the mark. I love communion and I think it has enough spiritual “weight” to hold it’s own in a service. I don’t mind the ritual being updated in some reasonable ways, but I want the pastor to lend his/her authority to the serving of the sacrament. It bugs me to hear the pastor taking time to do announcements as though that is really important stuff but leaving the serving of the Lord’s Supper on automatic as though it’s just an optional part of that Sunday’s worship service.

Preaching from floor level rather than the platform. I understand the desire of pastors to be informal and approachable during the sermon. I understand that in a contemporary worship service the speaker doesn’t want to appear preachy. Apparently, a lot of pastors have decided that, not only do they not want a pulpit, but they want to be down front rather than on the stage looking down on people. But let me tell you what happens out in the seats: some of us spend the whole sermon trying to look around the people in front of us. After awhile I gain a whole new appreciation for Zacchaeus of New Testament fame who climbed a tree so he could get a glimpse of Jesus. If the speaker would just stand on the platform we could all see him or her. Some pastors think they are enhancing their communication effort by staying off the platform, but I think they are shooting themselves in the foot by creating an absolutely unnecessary distraction.

Any time I see young adults in the church who are really into worship it blesses my heart and I’m happily convinced that a lot of contemporary churches are doing a lot of things right. Still, I have to confess that these things bug me.

In my early ministry I remember seeing a grandmother allowing her grandkids to gather around the communion ware and drink all the left over grape juice from the tiny cups. I think that was the first time I ever thought about the remnants of the communion sacrament. At the time, I hadn’t thought much about it but there was something about that approach that was disturbing to me.

Coming from a non-liturgical background as I had I’d given little thought to what to do with left over bread and wine (grape juice for us) after the service. Our Roman Catholic friends, meanwhile, have it down to a fine art but, then, they believe in transubstantiation too – that is that the elements become the actual body and blood of our Lord. After the mass they are left with consecrated elements that must be handled with utmost reverence. For Protestants and especially for non-liturgical groups the status of left over elements is something less. As we celebrate the sacrament concerning the bread and wine we pray: “Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ.” Having just prayed that prayer a short time earlier, just tossing these things into the trash or down the drain is something akin to handling the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy way. So what to do?

Fortunately, there are godly people who have thought about this. After some reading I directed those in our church who prepare the sacrament to this approach; maybe it will help you too.

If we are using the little squares of unleavened bread we return it to the container and put it back in the freezer to be used again. If we are using baked bread, the portion left over from the actual communion is taken outside to a little used area (like a flower garden) and left for the birds, etc. to consume. The person taking it out offers a short prayer, thanking the Lord for his sacrifice for us.

Grape juice that has been offered is similarly returned to the earth. That which was never offered in the service can be drunk as a beverage.

While we don’t accept the concept of transubstantiation we do want to be aware that these elements (that we said are symbols of our Lord’s broken body and shed blood) should be handled in a respectful, reverent way. You might say that this is a fitting conclusion to a sacrament that emphasizes how common place things can take on uncommon meaning.

Like this:

I grew up in a very “low church” worship environment. Our Nazarene Manual directed us to receive the Lord’s Supper at least once a quarter and, apparently, we saw that as a maximum rather than minimum frequency. As a young pastor I followed that same schedule but over time I moved to a monthly observance, trying to find a middle way between seeing the sacrament as the featured act of worship at one extreme, and as a mandated add-on at the other extreme.

While I don’t think there is a right or wrong approach in how most churches observe the sacrament I do think that the freedom to vary the emphasis and approach and even mechanics of observing it can be an advantage for less liturgical churches. Whether or not you agree with me here, I hope you’ll find some of these thoughts helpful.

Communion is more of a celebration than anything else. We don’t believe Jesus dies again each time we receive communion and it isn’t only about shed blood and broken body. Mainly, we’re celebrating the amazing love the Lord has for us. Jesus willingly went to the cross because “God so loved the world.” There, on that old rugged cross, he conquered sin and death. His victory has become mine. We don’t celebrate the brokenness and bleeding but we do celebrate the reason for it and what it has accomplished in and for us. “We come today to celebrate the greatest act of love, the most beneficial sacrifice ever accomplished….”

Communion is the perfect platform for inviting people to come to Jesus. As a young person I somehow had the idea that the Lord’s Supper could be hazardous to one’s health. We were to examine ourselves and if we had experienced any spiritual failure we might be wise to skip communion that quarter. Over time I began to understand that, while it was possible to receive communion in an unworthy manner (that is, without showing proper reverence) that, honestly, no one is worthy of receiving these emblems of the Lord’s body and blood. Had we been worthy, he would have never had to go to the cross in the first place. With that in mind, I began to see the sacrament as an invitation to Christ. As I examine my heart and realize that there are spiritual failures I’m not disqualified from the bread and wine. Rather, I’m being given an opportunity to avail myself of the mercy and grace of the Lord in a fresh way. If I come, viewing my receiving communion as a substitute for repentance and faith I’m moving into the “unworthy” territory. If I come seeking forgiveness and restoration, though, I find life in that sacrament. “The Bible says we’re to examine ourselves before receiving communion. So let’s do that. If, as you consider your relationship with the Lord and find that things aren’t what they ought to be, that doesn’t mean you can’t receive communion today. Instead, this is an opportunity to make things right with the Lord. As you receive the bread and wine, receive Jesus into your life all over again.”

Communion is a great way to introduce your child to Jesus. Honestly, I think our liturgical friends with their emphasis on “first communion” have a great approach. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t advantages to a less structured, low church approach. As a pastor I allowed parents to bring their children forward to receive communion provided the parent agreed to have a discussion with that child about allowing Jesus to be their Lord and Savior before the day was over. Symbols are powerful and children can grasp spiritual realities earlier than we might think. I let parents decide if their children are “there” yet. “Parents, I’ll let you decide when your children are ready to receive communion. If you do allow your child to come today, I ask this of you: let’s agree that before this day is over you will sit down with your child and talk about the meaning of communion and how it is that a person places their faith in Jesus.”

Communion ought to be the focus of at least one service a year. Baptism has been called the “entry sacrament” to our life in Christ. Communion is the “continuing sacrament.” One Sunday a year the church service should be all about the Lord’s Supper (World Communion Sunday is the first Sunday of October). Sing songs about it, read the appropriate scriptures, and preach a sermon that reminds us why we celebrate communion. Talk about our unity with believers across the ages and in the various traditions of Christianity. Talk about God’s love for us and Christ’s willingness to die for us. Remind people of its connection to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Tell them why the Lord’s Supper is called a “means of grace.” Then, invite people to the table of the Lord. Pastor, on this Sunday, you do all the serving, taking the role of Jesus, himself. “Today is World Communion Sunday and we’re going to join Christians of many traditions around the world in receiving communion. Before we do that though, let’s think about the meaning and purpose of this sacrament of the Church.”

So today, I did the call to worship and then explained that…1. We believe Communion is a means of grace and that2. Since we believe our Lord is present in the Communion, and that,3. Since we want the presence of the Lord in all the worship service…we were going to open the service by observing the Lord’s Supper.

We had a blessed Eucharist, and then went right into an enthusiastic worship service. As I began the message I remarked that I had just noticed that I could still taste the grape juice and that reminded me that the Lord was present, indeed, in that place.

I don’t know how meaningful it was for others, but I was blessed by observing the Lord’s Supper at the beginning of worship today and plan on doing it that way again sometime in the future.